Sony State of Play 2026: the coolest games at this year’s showcase

Happy Not-E3, to all who celebrate! Yes, it’s that time again. Time for the entire industry to shout about what it’s up to in a concentrated weeklong frenzy of conferences and trailer drops. Sony’s State of Play showcase kicked it off, shortly to be followed by Summer Games Fest on 11 June.

You might question the wisdom of trying to get the word out about your game at the exact moment when all your competitors are doing the very same thing, but that doesn’t seem to stop anyone. Bring on the trailers!

Stuntman! The original 2002 PS2 title by Driver studio Reflections was a cult classic, and showed us that driving really fast into things that break into smithereens or explode at just the right moment is a game experience there should be at least 50 more of.

Well, guess what, it’s back. We can confirm that once again it’s about driving really fast into things that break into smithereens or explode, but this time with way more fidelity. No release date yet, it’s simply ‘coming soon’. 

Coming 15 September, Insomniac’s take on Hugh Jackman’s life story [citation needed] is big and bloody, taking plenty of cues from the well-received Marvel’s Spider-Man releases. Here’s the trailer.

The biggest shift here, other than all the blood, is the tone. Far less cheery quips, far more frowning. Truthfully to us this one looks in danger of being over-familiar, but we’ll be happy to eat our words at clawblade-point this September.

Hooray! If any game deserved a sequel, it was Supermassive’s 2015 interactive horror masterpiece Until Dawn. And now there’s a fresh batch of ill-fated teenagers to ham-fistedly save in a sequel. 

As the trailer shows, this one’s set in tropical climes rather than a frozen log cabin, but we doubt it’ll be any more relaxing for the cast.  

Another returning titan. This fresh God of War follows Faye, second wife of Kratos and mother of Atreus. 

You might want to get the eye drops ready before watching this trailer, which is actually just a giant chunk of gameplay (more of this sort of thing please!) We’re pretty sure there are colours in here that have never been shown before. It’ll be a mighty workout for your hardware when it releases, which is… as yet unannounced. Cheers Sony. 

Speaking of familiar, we’re into the ‘I had that on PS1/2/3!’ section now. Starting with Rayman Legends Retold, a re-telling of the 2013 platformer which itself represented a resurgence for the limbless PlayStation 1 mascot. Have a look at the trailer and see what you reckon.

So it’s a re-retelling really, but an expertly crafted one. This time it’s fully 3D, so the gorgeous painterly 2.5D visuals of the original are gone. We’re not sure that’s a good thing yet, but on 1 October when this one releases, we’ll know for sure. 

We’ve gone and done it now. Intoning the sacred words ‘PlayStation 1 mascot’ has summoned Lara Croft from her slumber, and she’s arrived with a fresh trailer that shows off the upcoming Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis. 

Handsome game, this one. There are scenes in the trailer that could pass for renaissance paintings. This one’s due on 27 February next year.